Fruit pitting machine



C. E. COLE ET AL FRUIT FITTING MACHINE Aug. 30, 1949.

3 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 15, 1945 w H 0| 2 Mam aw .1 M F W m H A z 9 w3 E D 7 E 5 E JAIMJ} g- 1949- c. EJCOLE ETAL 80,3 7

FRUIT PITT ING MACHINE Filed Dec. 15, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3

\' I jCARROLI COLE Eown RD 1. DERDER'IHH c. E; COLE ETAL 2,

FRUIT FITTING MACHINE Filed De. 15, 1945 v s Sheets-Sheet s gjwuwiow I(JHRR LL E. QQLE EDWA D U. [Roma/m Patented Aug. 30, 1949 HITTING.MAQHINE flfii rolliEi eolezand Edward J. Derderian, Fresno,

;(alif.,;assignorsttotiillipttManufacturing39m. 1anrn.l3r,esno,-;Galif., a sra ono Ca i rnia. i 'p;plijoatio,n'Decemb'er15, 1945; Serial No. 635,298

( 01; 11A (Se-7 6.)

:43Claims;

Our-invention relates-*todrultpitting machines, and the objects of "ourinvention are':

First: To provid'e a machinewhich maybe employed toremovethe=pits-'ofdifierent kinds of fruit, such "as plums, prunes;apricots, peaches (particularly those of small size) and cherries.

Second: To -provii.l-e"a machine -of this class, wherein the pits arethoroughly cleaned of pulp during the course of remova'ltherebyproviding a machine which is"particularlyapplicable to thepitting of fruits ln which the pit is not=-free of the pulp.

Third: To "provide amaohine of this class, wherein the pulp as removedis in a iorm 'suitable for-compote use; andmherein -virtuaHy all of thejuice extracted in the course of-pitting is collected.

Fourth Toprov-ideamachine or this= charaoter 'WhiCh is particularlycompactiand eeonomical of manufacture in proportion to the quantity 01'volume of fruit it is capabale ofprocessing.

With the foregoing-:and other' objects inview, as may appeanhereinafter,referenced-s directed to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. -1 is a side view'cf our ifruit 'pittinamachine; and

Fig. 2 is a rear 'or 'discharge end-view of ;our machine; and

Fig; 3 1's a frontor-*reclvingend view of our 'machiney-and I Fig. 4 .isa lon itudiiial sectional view thereof taken substantially alongthefline 1-4" of Fig. 3 and "Fig. 51 is-an-enlatgddetailefi view ofthepitting and pressure rollers taken" ihtheisame plane as Fig.4;an'd

Fig. .6 is ;a fragmentarysectionaTview'thereof taken "through "6-6' of"Fig;

'The fruit pitting machine *is, supported "by a pair of side frames Ieach comprising uprights and suitable cross members "located to. supportthe various elements' ofithe,machine. "Journale'd on a shaft .2b'etween'bearin'gs "located on the mper portions of the Jsideiframes i3,near their rear ends, is apitting"roller"3. The; pitting rollercomprises a series of spacers"landfcircular saws '5 arrangedalternately; 'Ih'e saws 55 have blunt -or square teeth "'6, whichprotrude .beyond, the spacers 4. Also Supported between-the side framesi 'on ashaft 11: and'flocated "forwardly" of thepitting-rollersisapressure roller' 8. The surfacerofthe pressuiierollerjsformed-of rubber,

or so calledsynthetic rubber; ":andis relatively wieldable. The end-sfif =-tlfie;; shaft! are mounted in'islidable bearings '9 "which adaptedto be 2 moved backwardly and forwardly :by. :a chain drive ii? in such a-manner that :theioontact pressureof the pressure roller 8 against thepitting roller 3 may be adjusted.

Theshafts 2 and dare provided .withsprockets I l, and locatedforwardly'of the pitting roller an idler sprocket I 2. :A chain 13passesoverthe idler sprocket and over-the sprocket. onshaft :2butextends underthesprocketlonshaft 11. The size of the sprockets :H isidentical and :so :are the diameters of the pitting .roller :3 landpressure roller 8. Consequently the :contacting sides of the pitting andpressure rollers move in the same direction andiatthe-samezperipheralnspeed,

' avoiding any tearing action between the saws andthe pressure roller.

A drivensprocket is is mountedt on the haft 72", preferably at theopposite end ifromzthesprocket :lzl. The driven sprocket i4 is connectedlo-yl a drive chain E5 to a drive sprocket lii mountedl on a .countershaft I! located across the forward ends of'the side frames 1. Thecounter shaft it] :isin-zturn driven by a motor zl s-t-hroughia pulleyandbelt unit I79.

.Mounted above the rollers 43 and 8 "is 3,:f68d trough 21, the bottom ofwhich is defined by the upper ,adjacentportionsof=.tl1e rollers. The-:end walls 22 of the-feed 'troughconformto the rollers Stand 8 andsupportupstandingguide-rods 123 between which is .mountedwa cross bar 2dadapted to slide vertically on the guiderods 23. Thecross bar 24supportsa feeding blade '25 formed of a relatively stiiT -block--ofrubber :or the-dike. The feeding blade-is adapted to reciprocatevertically between a lower position, a1- most contactingsimultaneously-the rollers 3 and 8,and an upperpositionsufficiently.clear thereof to permit fruit to roll under thefeeding blade.

The ends of the cross bar fl-t-areconnected by push rods 26'to levers 21mountedat thetsides of the side frames 1 and connected-by ashaft 23."One of the levers 2'! is provided with an extensionto which isattacheda connecting'ro'd 29. The connecting rod 29- e-z rtends upwardlyand is joined to a crank sprocketsitmounted ona stub shaft 3!, The cranksprocket-tdisconnected by achain drive dz-to a sprocket 33 mountedon theshaft 3 outwardly from the sprocket M 'A- supply tray or chute=34-ismounted above the side frames I With-itsrearend-overhanging-"theforward-side of the feed troughfzl The supply tray-is supported onfourrocker arms'tdwhich are-adaptedto be, oscillate'di ina manner'eto'joe described-hereinafter,

Located forwardly of the pitting roller 3 is a shaft 36 which carries aplurality of stripper knives 31. The stripper knives extend downwardlyand forwardly to engage the forward undersides of the spacers 4 betweenthe saws 5. The knives strip or remove pulp which would otherwise clingto and between the saws 5.

Below the pitting roller 3 is a pulp discharge hopper 38, the upper andforward end of which is located rearwardly of the vertical plane definedby the contacting surfaces of the rollers 3 and 8. The discharge hopperslopes downwardly and rearwardly from its upper or receiving end to apoint clear of the side frames.

An oscillating pit discharge screen 4| is located between the sideframes I with its rearward or receiving end under the receiving end ofthe pulp discharge hopper 38. The pits, on moving between the rollers 3and 8, discharge more or less vertically downwardly and, therefore, fallinto the pit discharge screen 4| instead of the pulp discharge hopper38. The pit discharge screen 4| slopes forwardly and downwardly and ismounted on four upstanding rocker springs 42 supported from the sideframes l. Oscillating arms 43 are attached to the sides of the screen 4|at its rearward end and extend forwardly to eccentrics 44 mounted on thecounter shafts I'i. By this means the pit discharge screen 45 is causedto oscillate or vibrate, so as to work the pits toward the forward ordischarge end of the screen, however, at a slow rate, so that the juicecan drain through the screen 4| The screen is preferably formed by aplurality of longitudinally extending bars,

A bracket 45 is secured to the screen 4| and is joined by a link 46 tothe lever arm 41 which forms an extension of one of the rocker arms 35,so that the supply tray 34 is oscillated indirectly by the eccentrics44.

A juice drain pan 48 is located under the screen 4! and slopes forwardlyand rearwardly to a point below the discharge end of the hopper 38, sothat the juice and the pulp are discharged into a common receptacle.juice from the pulp, the discharge end of the pan 48 may terminate shortof the hopper.

In order to guide the pits and at the same time deflect the juice ontothe oscillating screen 4|,

side deflectors 49 are secured to the side frames l and are positionedwith their lower ends overhanging the ends of the pit discharge screen,which, of course, is provided with upturned side walls. In addition, across deflector 50 extends between the side frames forwardly of, andbelow, the pressure roller 8.

Operation of our fruit pitting machine is as follows:

The fruit is fed into the supply tray 34 and, by reason of theoscillatory movement of the supply tray, is shaken into the feed trough2|. The fruit falls between the rollers 3 and 8, and by aid of thefeeding blade 25 is forced between the rollers as these rollers arerotated in the direction of the arrows shown in Fig. 5. The pressureroller 8 is relatively soft and yieldable, so that the fruit is to someextent pressed therein, and as the opposite side of the fruit is engagedby the saws, the fruit rolls in a manner to cause the saw teeth to stripthe pulp or meat of the fruit free of the seed. The pulp or meat tendsto cling to, and between, the saws and is, therefore, carried rearwardlyuntil stripped from the saws by the knives 31, so as to drop into thepulp discharge hopper 38. The seeds, and juice which is separated fromIf it is desired to separate the I the pulp in the course of pitting thefruit, drops vertically onto the oscillating pit discharge screen 4|.The pits roll forwardly on the screen into a suitable receptacle, notshown, while the juice drains downwardly through the screen into the pan48 and is ultimately discharged with the contents of the pulp dischargehopper 38 into a common receptacle, also not shown.

Many other embodiments of the invention may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. A fruit pitting machine comprising: a pair of tangentially disposedrollers, their adjacent sides traveling in the same direction, one ofsaid rollers being yieldable, the other including spaced circumferentialrows of teeth, said teeth adapted to rip the pulp from the seed of fruitpassing between said rollers and tending to carry the pulp as the rollercontinues its rotation; said rollers together defining a trough forreceiving fruit whereby the fruit tends to wedge between said rollers; aresilient plunger mounted above the trough for pressing the fruit intowedging contact with said rollers; stripper means for enga ing andremoving the pulp held by said teeth; a discharge chute for catching thepulp as removed by said stripper means; and means for receiving thejuice and seeds of the fruit upon issuance from between said rollers,and straining the juice from said seeds.

2. A fruit pitting machine comprising: a yieldable roller; a multiplesaw roller engagable with said yielding roller; means driving saidrollers whereby the contacting peripheries thereof move downwardly inunison, said rollers adapted to receive fruit above their contactingportions, discharge the juice and seeds downwardly after passing betweensaid rollers, said saw roller tending to retain the pulp of the fruit onits periphery; means for receiving and separating the juice and seeds;means for stripping pulp from said saw roller; a receiver for pulpstripped from said saw roller; a hopper above said rollers, the upperportions of said rollers forming the bottom thereof; and a reciprocatingfeeding blade adapted to crowd fruit between said rollers.

3. A fruit pitting machine comprising: a yieldable roller; a multiplesaw roller engagable with said yieldable roller; means driving saidrollers whereby the contacting peripheries thereof move downwardly inunison, said rollers adapted to receive fruit above their contactingportions, discharge the juice and seeds downwardly after passing betweensaid rollers, said saw roller tending to retain the pulp of the fruit onits periphery; an oscillating screen disposed under the contactingportions of said rollers to receive the fruit juice and seeds therefrom;a hopper above said rollers, the upper portions of said rollers formingthe bottom thereof; a reciprocating feeding blade adapted to crowd fruitbetween said rollers; a feed chute for delivering fruit to said hopper;and means linking said feed chute with said oscillating screen wherebysaid feed chute oscillates in unison therewith.

4. A fruit pitting machine comprising: a yieldable roller; a multiplesaw roller engagable with said yieldable roller; means driving saidrollers whereby the contacting peripheries thereof move downwardly inunison, said rollers adapted to receive fruit above their contactingportions, discharge the juice and seeds downwardly after passing betweensaid rollers, said saw roller tending to retain the pulp of :the fruiton its periphery;

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 56,721 Crosby July 31, 1866156,467 Sims Nov. 3, 1874 951,897 Anderson Mar. 15, 1910 1,097,213Crine' May 19, 1914 2,202,540 Stelter May 28, 1940 2,360,964 Moroni Oct.24, 1944 2,374,456 Ravndal et al Apr. 24, 1945

